Not many young aspiring players can claim that they have hit with Roger Federer – the greatest man to ever hold a tennis racquet.
Thirteen -year-old Kareem Allaf has done so three years in a row and the third time that the Abu Dhabi-based player came across the Swiss maestro, Federer smiled at him and said: “oh it’s you again!”
“You have to win a tournament to play with the players who come to the Mubadala Tennis Championship. And for three years that I’ve won in a row, I played with Nadal, Soderling, Federer three times…” explained Kareem. “It was a lot of fun, Federer’s really nice. He recognised me the next time we played.”
It was a nod of recognition from Kareem’s biggest idol – one he will never forget as the young Syrian looks ahead hoping for a similar career in tennis.
Kareem has been playing tennis since he was seven-years-old following in his father Ammar’s footsteps, but he only decided to take it up seriously when he was nine.
Since then Kareem has managed to become the No.1 player in Asia in the Under-14 category, a position he captured in Doha last December and has maintained it ever since thanks to another blasting performance in Malaysia last July.
Two weeks ago, Kareem made a phenomenal debut in the ITF (International Tennis Federation) Junior Circuit – where players between the age of 13 and 18 compete together – and is now one of the top 13-year-old’s ranked in the ITF junior rankings, thanks to the 18 points he collected from his semi-final showing in Iran.
“I was expected to maximum make the second round. But it was unbelievable. I went all the way to the semi-finals,” said Kareem who speaks with a tone of confidence quite rare to be found in someone his age.
His father, Ammar, was equally astonished. He said: “Some people play for two or three years just to get ranked, Kareem from his first ITF he got points and has a ranking.”
In the quarter-finals in Iran, Kareem beat an Iranian player, who at 16 is three years his senior and was 1.88m in height. “He was really tall,” said Kareem. “I struggled in the first set and I lost it 6-3, but then I decided that I want to win this match, so I came back 6-4, 6-4. I played really well.”
He advanced to take on another Iranian in the semi-finals, who wasn’t as tall as his previous opponent but was equally daunting, aged 18-years-old – five years older than Kareem. He lost in the semi-finals but is already gearing up for the Dubai ITF tournament next month (October 3) where he expects the competition to be much fiercer than it was in Iran.
The life of a tennis player is difficult for both the young and the mature. Kareem has travelled to many places around the world for his beloved sport and he has his family and school to thank for that.
His father and mother take turns in travelling to tournaments with him and have been rewarded by seeing their star child not just excel on the Asian circuit, but also dominate on the junior European circuit, where he won tournaments in France and in Switzerland this summer.
His school, Al Yasmina School in Abu Dhabi, has been very supportive of his tennis. They awarded Kareem the Jack O’Donnell Sports Person of the Year Award, to honour his achievements and Ammar admitted they have been doing everything they can to accommodate his son’s tennis schedule.
Kareem has been living in Abu Dhabi since he was five-years-old and trains about 10-12 hours of tennis per week at the Abu Dhabi Country Club, where he is coached by professional tennis coach Ridha Bousaada, with Ammar stepping in as assistant coach.
“Kareem is very competitive in everything he does. He wants to be the top in school, in tennis… in everything. He used to be a very good swimmer too but he got to a point when he knew he had to choose one sport,” said Ammar.
Showing early signs of being an over-achiever, Kareem has his sights set on the big stage and dreams of becoming a Grand Slam champion. He’s already made his debut at Roland Garros but it was in an Under-10 tournament where he lost in the quarter-finals.
His recent success on the European junior circuit has attracted the attention of coaches there and Kareem was offered a scholarship to attend a tennis academy in France, but Ammar believes it’s too soon to allow his son to stay in Europe on his own.
“This year he already travelled by himself to France, to Switzerland, to Malaysia. But I was with him in Iran. I think he’s still young to go and stay in France though. Maybe in a couple of year’s time,” said Ammar.
“The main problem for us here in the UAE is the lack of sponsorship. Tennis is a very expensive sport and I am supporting Kareem fully on my own, but he is constantly travelling all around the world and sponsors are a necessity.”
Kareem is currently in a training camp in Bangkok with Asia’s top eight players and his next big challenge will be the ITF Under-18 tournament in Dubai next month, followed by the West Asia Championships in Oman.
FACTFILE
Birthday: 22/03/1998
Height: 158cm
Nationality: Syrian
Resident: UAE
Favourite Shot: Forehand inside-out
Tennis idol: Roger Federer
Hobbies: Football and listening to music
Asian Ranking (Under-14): 1
UAE Ranking (Under-14): 1
ITF (Under-18) Ranking: 1225 (one of the top 13-year-olds)
Latest achievement: Semi-finals, ITF Iran
His current whereabouts: In Bangkok taking part in a tennis camp for the top eight players in Asia
